DHS Nominee Mayorkas subject of Hillary Clinton-linked fraud probe

A Department of Homeland Security nominee is the subject of an internal investigation…

Alejandro Mayorkas, Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is once again at the center of an internal probe, implicating him in yet another case of fraud. Mayorkas, a DHS nominee, is under investigation for his role in securing an approval for a visa for Gulf Coast Funds owned by Anthony Rodham, brother of Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former Secretary of State. Reportedly, the visa was approved even after it had been denied during the application process.

According to the State Department, most of the users of the EB-5 visa program are Chinese investors. This will no doubt spark major economic and immigration concerns as this case unfolds.

In 2009, Mayorkas was questioned about his involvement of the commutation release of a Democratic Party donor’s son from prison who was charged with drug trafficking. The commutation was granted by then President Bill Clinton.Will this new scandal open the door for NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly to be the new head of DHS?

How will this current controversy affect Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run, now that the Rodham-Clinton connection has been revealed?

IMAGE: Barack Obama, Janet Napolitano and Alejandro Mayorkas

Below is the breaking story from the Associated Press.More developments to come…
AP NewsBreak: Homeland Security official probed

According to an email sent to lawmakers Monday evening, the IG’s office said that it initially started investigating the EB-5 visa program last year based on a referral from an FBI analyst in the counter intelligence unit in Washington.

In the email detailing the case, the IG’s office said “at this point in our investigation, we do not have any findings of criminal misconduct.” The email does not specify what criminal violations it is investigating.

White House press secretary Jay Carney referred questions to the DHS inspector general’s office, which said the probe is in its preliminary stage and that it doesn’t comment on the specifics of investigations.

The EB-5 program allows foreign nationals to get a visa if they invest $500,000 to $1 million in a project or business that creates jobs for U.S. citizens. The amount of the investment required depends on the type of project. Investors who are approved for the program can become legal permanent residents after two years and would later be eligible to become citizens.

The White House did not have an immediate comment on the investigation. Neither the department nor USCIS immediately responded to inquiries.

Were Mayorkas confirmed as the department’s deputy secretary, he likely would run the department on an interim basis until a permanent replacement has been approved to take over for departing Secretary Janet Napolitano.

The email said the primary complaint against Mayorkas was that he helped a financing company run by Anthony Rodham, the brother of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to win approval for an investor visa, even after the application was denied and an appeal was rejected.

Mayorkas, a former U.S. attorney in California, previously came under fire for his involvement in the commutation by President Bill Clinton of the prison sentence of the son of a Democratic Party donor. Another of Hillary Clinton’s brothers, Hugh Rodham, had been hired by the donor to lobby for the commutation. Mayorkas told lawmakers during his 2009 confirmation hearing that “it was a mistake” to talk to the White House about the request.

According to the Inspector General’s email, the investigation of the investor visa program also includes allegations that other USCIS Office of General Counsel officials obstructed an audit of the visa program by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The email did not name any specific official from the general counsel’s office.

The email says investigators did not know whether Mayorkas was aware of the investigation. The FBI’s Washington Field Office was told about the investigation in June after it inquired about Mayorkas as part of the White House background investigation for his nomination as deputy DHS secretary.

The FBI in Washington has been concerned about the investor visa program and the projects funded by foreign sources since at least March, according to emails obtained by The AP.

The bureau wanted details of all of the limited liability companies that had invested in the EB-5 visa program. Of particular concern, the FBI official wrote, was Chinese investment in projects, including the building of an FBI facility.

“Let’s just say that we have a significant issue that my higher ups are really concerned about and this may be addressed way above my pay grade,” the official wrote. The FBI official’s name was redacted in the email.